This Actor Who Met Kelly Clarkson Thought She Was ‘Mad’ at Him

Fans may have loved Steve Carell in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, but the film's star wasn’t sure how Kelly Clarkson would react to hearing her name in the film.

The actor appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Thursday (Nov. 15) and admitted to host Jimmy Fallon that he was afraid how The Voice coach would react to him having shouted her name in an ad-libbed scene that featured him having his chest waxed. The pair came face-to-face for the first time thirteen years after Carell’s movie came out in 2005.

“I thought she’d be mad at me,” he revealed. “I wasn’t sure because I’d never met her over those years.”

Carell told Fallon he decided, inexplicably, to shout Clarkson’s name in response to having the hair follicles ripped from his chest and it made the final cut. Viewers ate it up, but the 56-year-old imagined Clarkson might have some questions -- namely, “Is he making fun of me? Why would he say that in anguish?”

Lucky for Carell, Clarkson received the joke well and the pair became fast friends. In fact, he said she’s “the best.” The “I Don’t Think About You” singer had similarly nice things to say about the Hollywood funnyman, telling Access in January 2018 he’s “the nicest human.”

Carell and Clarkson met at an awards show at the top of the year. The Beautiful Boy lead shared a photo of the two of them together, captioning it, "Finally."